HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS — If the answer was an easy one, Carmelo Anthony might have already committed to continuing his NBA future in Chicago. Or perhaps LeBron James would have chosen to take his talents to the Windy City in the summer of 2010 instead of to South Beach.

There is no question the Chicago Bulls offer the proper platform for any superstar looking to chase his championship dreams. The organization has a rich title-winning history (the Michael Jordan era remains fresh in the minds of many). There is a resident superstar, albeit one who is coming off two straight seasons of significant injury issues, in Derrick Rose. There is already an elite rim protector and defensive backbone in KIA Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah. And there is a coaching savant in charge in Tom Thibodeau.

The Bulls have stable ownership, a shrewd front office led by Gar Forman and John Paxson, cap space, again, and with the league’s moratorium on free agent signings just days away from being lifted, the Bulls don’t have a taker for all that they offer.

The Bulls are not out of the ‘Melo sweepstakes yet. According to the Chicago Tribune they are still alive, but they are not the favorite to land him despite being the logical fit. The Bulls need an elite scorer to pair with Rose and Anthony can basically get 30 in his sleep.

Why is it so hard for the Bulls to snag one of these available superstars?

And I don’t want to hear anything about the harsh climate. Chicago is a world-class city and the Bulls don’t play outdoors. So we can toss the weather report out as a factor right now.

There are deeper issues at play here, in my mind, and they have more to do with the nuts and bolts components of the Bulls team awaiting the player who takes the leap.

Is it the trepidation about what Rose will be like in his latest comeback, the worry that his MVP days are over and perhaps he’ll be merely a good but not great player? Rose’s future is easily the most pressing issue for any superstar considering the Bulls. The Bulls couldn’t get over the hump when he was healthy, so there is no guarantee they’ll be able to do so now.

Maybe the prospect of playing for a grinder like Thibodeau, who is relentless in his approach to everything from practice to the postgame messages he delivers to the media, isn’t as attractive to the superstar crowd as it is to blue-collar studs like Taj Gibson, Jimmy Butler and others.

And even though we are two full NBA generations removed from the Jordan era, elite stars like Anthony and James have to wrestle with the vast shadow cast by the player considered by most to be the greatest that’s ever played. The prospect of trying to live up to his legend, in the same jersey, is added pressure no one needs.

Entering free agency, the Bulls always knew that, without a sign-and-trade transaction, they couldn’t compete with the Knicks’ five-year, $129 million offer or even the Lakers’ four-year, $96 million deal without gutting their team. But Anthony is the one who emphasized winning is a priority. And athletes often can maximize endorsement potential by doing exactly that.

Even the most jaded free-agency observer might agree the Bulls offer the best chance to win in 2014-15.

The fact Taj Gibson played an active part of the Bulls’ pitch played to Anthony’s desire to keep Gibson and possibly join a ready-to-win roster. A source familiar with the Bulls’ pitch said Anthony and Gibson “connected.”

Without a sign-and-trade and by keeping Gibson, the Bulls only can offer Anthony a four-year, roughly $73 million deal via salary-cap space. This is one of the many reasons acquiring Anthony via a sign-and-trade is more ideal. It can make Anthony’s offer far more lucrative and allow the Bulls to remain over the salary cap, thus allowing them to sign other players via exceptions.

Multiple outlets, including the Tribune, have reported that Knicks President Phil Jackson hasn’t shown much inclination for sign-and-trade talks. This, obviously, could change should Anthony inform Jackson he’s choosing the Bulls.

The Bulls have been used before in the post-Jordan era. Tracy McGrady, Grant Hill and even Tim Duncan all flirted with the Bulls in free agency and ultimately decided to go elsewhere, for whatever their specific reasons were.

I’m convinced the Jordan factor, no one wants to follow “The Man,” was at play for all of those guys. Trying to live up to that sort of standard would have made their basketball lives far more difficult than going somewhere else and establishing a championship legacy of their own (And Duncan has certainly done a fine job of that).

The challenge for today’s stars, however, is much more about Rose than the ghosts of Jordan, Scottie Pippen or even former Bulls general manager Jerry Krause, whose reputation hurt the Bulls with big-time free agents for years after he was gone.

Rose is not only the Bulls’ resident superstar, he’s the hometown kid who will always have sway with the organization. He was the first Bulls’ star after Jordan to reach MVP status and put the team back into the ranks of the league’s elite. No one will ever forget that. And anyone who shows up trying to force their way into his realm will no doubt be viewed through that prism.

These superstar conglomerates require some shared sacrifices, financial and otherwise, among players who consider themselves friends and even brothers, in a sense. Rose has been a reluctant, at best, recruiter and a loner of sorts in a league where relationships between players are paramount this time of year.

Having grown up in a previous era of the league, I can appreciate Rose’s “we’ll win with or without you” approach.

But it’s become clear to me that perhaps the biggest impediment to the Bulls attracting another superstar is the superstar already in place …

70 Comments

You answered the question in the first few sentences and then tossed it out. No one wants to freeze their behinds off all winter in the “windy city.” Even if you play inside you have to get there and Chicago is one ugly place only slightly prettier than Cleveland.

Today, I watched some video of Nikola Mirotich. I had heard that if he was in this year’s draft he would have been a top 5 pick. Granted he played against competition inferior to NBA talent, but he looked like a young Dirk. Inside, outside he looked pretty good. Even without Melo or LBJ, the Bulls will indeed be a much better team and just might give LBJ and Melo all they can handle, whether against the Heat (which would have LBJ essentially flying solo with Wade’s decline), the Cavs, or the Knicks. Butler and Gibson will be better offensively. If Rose is healthy he can be good enough.

The Bulls will be 9 or 10 deep with enough talent to resemble how these latest champions did it the right way. I’m not saying the Bulls can beat the best of the West, but they would certainly compete in the East. (I do think Cleveland would be better with LBJ than the Heat will be with him this fall.) If Melo or James came to Chicago, they’d be favorites to win the East and would challenge to win it all. One or the other could sign for 1 year, win a title, and then get his max deal next year.

the true is that todays superstars aren’t that good that’s why they have to pair themselves to win because nobody has the balls to be the man.all this other smoke filled @$%&&*&(( is just for the apologist in the media and the sorry state the league has fallen to.hopefully soon the pick up there shorts and stand tall again.

what kills me is all these Jordan fans never mentioned the reason he won those championships and thats because of the man who be sitting courtside currently BIG SCOTTIE you ignorant idol chasing individuals love to give praise to one man
but it was Pippen who showed up and THEY won championships, so D Rose is gonna need a quality all around player like Scottie was to win a championship and the only one who currently fits that bill is Lebron unfortunately but which one of them two is willing to take the back seat like Pippen did according to you so called Bulls fan or Jordan fanatics

If Adrian Peterson can come back from the same Injury as Rose to win the MVP in the NFL then Rose can come back and still be effective. He just has to get the fear on re-injury out of his head and realize that thinking too much will get you injured more. As far as free agency….if Melo and Bron wont sign then re-sign Deng and maybe Boozer for far less money and then have a productive season this year cheaply and go after the Free agents of 2015. I think the worst move they made was letting go of Nate Robinson but they made up for that with Augustine. A Bulls team with a 70% Derrick Rose, McBuckets, and Noah will still win enough games to be top 3 in the east. Sit back and watch Taj be a borderline All Star this year and see what happens in the Playoffs.

Everyone has seen how Thibs has ran players to the ground and put them on the road to a late season injury. What superstar wants to risk that on top of the Rose uncertainty? Bulls will have to build from within.

Chicago needed a fresh draft superstar to be not a star from other teams. the main reason why some star player like KOBE, L.JAMES, WADE and ANTHONY doesn’t want to be on BULLS are due to DINOSAUR FOOTPRINT of MJ still visible at CHICAGO..

I don’t see why Lebron wouldn’t at least consider the bulls or the bulls try to meet with him, he could get to the finals next year with that roster. Bulls to me seem like they are a better option than the Cavs or Heat, obviously he isn’t playing with any team in the west either scared of how many quality teams he’d have to go through just to make the conf. finals

The Bulls are a great fit for Melo but w/ defense as the main theme there, I think he wouldn’t sign w/ the Bulls. Tom Thibodeau will be in Melo’s ears preaching about defense and teamwork and all that Melo cares is a lone spotlight and a grade-F D.

The same thing happens in other small market but championship caliber teams. Look at Orlando, making it to the Finals and back to back Eastern Finals. Howard was still on the upswing at the time prior to the injury just before he left, and management was willing to move players and pay for a big time free agent. We have great weather, and of course that no state income tax that is always talked about. Howard courted the likes of Deron Wlliams and especially Chris Paul, neither of which even considered it. This was during the time that players like them and Anthony included were forcing their ways out and onto the teams they wanted to be on, and Orlando wasn’t one of them.

Dallas has had issues courting players, despite their willingness to pay, an all star in Dirk, great player in Ellis, hard working vets and having a championship in very recent memory. San Antonio has never been a huge destination, they’ve just been able to keep rather then bring in their all star players with management and coaching for the ages. OKC also is on the brink of a championship, and while they aren’t willing to pay, I’m sure they are willing to make a move to free up salary room should a star player have his heart set on them. Some of it is location, some of it is inexplicable. It’d be nice to know why so many players decide not to sign with these smaller markets, even ones with the ability to pay, with championship caliber teams.

It’s very simple if Rose had never injured himself, or came back from injury last season and played at the level he did before the injury I’m sure plenty of free agents would line up to play beside him, but that didn’t happen did it. Noah is very good, but not good enough to draw in top free agents by himself.

I don’t understand why these some people talk like “BS” . what is Chicago before DRose, JNoah and Thibs.. u all criticize the coach on how he played the players when they are ONLY loosing but when winning you all say he’s a great coach. Looking at Taj and Noah.. they are not even athletic type of players but they have heart and a winning mentality. All of these is because of the coach.. Remember when PHil still in LALA with SHAq kobe karl and payton. They where trashed by Detriot!!. If MELO or who ever “superstars” don’t want to play with Bulls .. they don’t want to win..

Sorry Sekou you have gotta come with some credible and factual journalism to support that D. Rose is the reason why free agents haven’t signed with the Bulls. This sounds like office ‘water cooler’ talk!

Chicago Bulls don’t need another Star, especially not Carmello, look at who they just got in the draft. I can’t believe they got Doug McDermott!
A healthy Derrick Rose is all the Chicago Bulls need this year!

The real problem is the treatment of their superstar Michael Jordan! Michael Jordan was the greatest player to ever play basketball! the bulls did not take care of him while he was in his prime! also they did not offer him anything with them after he retire as well! so when players think about Chicago being a place where they can take their talents, the bulls history and treatment of MJ pops up in their heads! Think about it, Chicago has everything you can dream about! great fan base, great sports market, beautiful city life, a former mvp in derrick rose, and great big man in noah, a great coach, and great role players! so maybe the real problem might be not showing loyalty and appreciation to the great players of the past who god bless them with to help them achieve the success they are enjoying today!!!

At this point I don’t think D Rose is ever going to be the same player. Take this from a Wizards fan who watched Gil Arenas decline from superstardom to losing more than a step and being completely ineffective. The reality of it is that even IF he manages to return to the court he won’t be the same, especially since he relies on speed so heavily. It’s time to look at plans B, C, D, etc. because it’s like chasing the pink dragon, you aren’t gonna catch it. What they have is a viale squad in the east with or without him but its going to take someone who can score the ball to get them to the next level.

The news that would shock the basketball world would be that LeBron James is signing with the Chicago Bulls, even if for just one year, to win 65 games and a world championship. Last season the Bulls did beat the Spurs, Pacers twice, swept the Mavs, swept Pheonix, trounced Golden State and Houston each by almost 30… without D-Rose and without Melo. They didn’t have those guys when they beat the Heat twice, and the Heat had LBJ. That can’t be lost on James if his priority is beating whoever comes out of the West. The Bulls give the Heat fits when James is healthy. Whether it’s Melo or James, even if Rose is just pretty good, playing for the Bulls gives them the best chance to beat the Spurs or Thunder for championship gold. If it’s about the money then they should be honest about that and make their choices accordingly.

The Bulls are done. No super star wants to play with Rose. He should have not been selected MVP. Durant and Lebron had better numbers but the media fell in love with Rose. I feel sorry for all the Bulls fans. Waiting for Rose to come off the bench and play. He is happy with his $16 M a year doing nothing for the team. Noah is the man. He should leave Chicago and join a championship team.

This suspense thing Carmelo is doing is no different than “The Decision”. Holding his team, his fans hostage. He’s really getting on my nerves . He already knows what he’s gonna do so just say it and stop trying to make it the great decision.

Even if Rose comes back. He needs 32 shots to score 20. He never was who people thought he was. Sure he has handles and can make the floater that looks impressive but his efficiency for a point is only mediocre. He was given the let’s to the franchise and was able to do whatever. As a player there is no better gift. Jay Williams snapped off on Jason Kidd for the only game the Bulls let him do his thing and his numbers in that one game were better than Rose’ s. I know it’s sad but true. But it’s true

actually derrick rose’s player efficiency rating the last two seasons he played was in the top 10 in the LEAGUE. that is not just among PGs. Look it up. And for what he was asked to do in carrying the Bulls offensively each and every night that is pretty impressive to say the least. Know your facts before stating ridiculous comments.

Maybe if Rose’ s MVP year had been different. Like say you all knew the Bulls were actually a good team instead of thinking “you take Rose off the team and they don’t even make the playoffs” and voted correctly than there wouldn’t be this problem. What does Rose add 5 wins a season? LOL. The stars aligned for this kid that’s for sure but Chicago is hosed now. They can’t do what is right cuz he’s from Chicago and they won’t attract flies even when they go back to being the post Jordan poop they couldn’t get past being labeled as

It’s the front office! remeber Paxon “I want to DNA test one of the players because I think it’s Good for Basketball”? So now your stuck with a huge salary of a player that can’t hold Deng shoe laces. Oh and you let Deng go for nothing hoping the team would tank so you could move up in the draft and save your Job, like you did when you drafted ROSE.

You need to know your facts if they wanted to tank then that’s what they would have done…. Deng was traded for salary cap purposes only. Everyone judging Rose but till he gets on the court an can at least play a min of 70 games before anyone can say if he will return to form and be D rose of old.

I always love when people bring up the Jordan Shadow when talking about Chicago having problems bringing in big name free agents. The Lakers do not seem to have this problem and they don’t exactly have a stable full of chopped liver with regards to some of their more notable alumni.

After all u are talking about an organization that has a history of dismissing u. I mean how do u explain not bringing the band back after a second 3 peat run? MJ/Pippen may have won 7,8 Championships before it was over. On the heels of winning a second 3 peat it ownership decided it was over. Same with Deing take it or leave? Who does that? Carmelo isn’t dumb in that regard, its not a given its an automatic championship because Derrick Rose still has to regain himself and u will be playing for a coach who is a damned good one but his style isn’t a Carmelo fit. So at the end of the day he is better off waiting cause Phil is clearing space if deal goes through for Amare and Shempart to go to Philly, Nicks can sign Deing, maybe Kevin Love, and oh yea if Bosh leves Miami maybe he and Lebron can play together so we wait but it aint Chicago cause he would have committed thats my opinion.

w/e Melo is stupid if he says he wants to win and stay in NY, they will not win sht with that team, plus Melo dosnt have that many years left, he is in his prime now, he cant afford to wait 3 years, its now or never.

maybe if Kobe was healthy. the Lakers don’t even have a coach yet. they don’t even have enough players for a starting 5 right now. and with as deep as the west is it would be very hard for them to even make the playoffs next year with Melo. too many question marks. he might as well stay in NY and get more money. if he really wants to win then Chicago is the obvious choice. that is a lot of money to leave on the table though so we will see if winning really is the most important thing to him.

Hahaha, the lakers are in the same situation as the knicks! As a matter of fact they’re worse. The heat big 3 with with the best player in the league are 2 for 5 in the finals! Old kobe, old pau, rookie Julius, and melo dosent even come close to what the heat put together. Make me laugh, and tell me you see them winning in two years? Because we both know even with melo, they’re not winning next year.

You can’t be serious. The reason they can’t attract top free agents is fairly simple. The front office combo of Forman and Paxson are incompetent from the word go. Paxson hit a jumpshot as a player so he has a job for life. Forman is a leftover from the Tim Floyd era. Neither is qualified to run an NBA franchise and the fans of Chicago are paying the price for these 2 inept GM’s (VP). Have a real conversation with player agents around the NBA, that is…if you are serious as 2 why no one wants to sign with the Bulls.

It’s become clear to me that you’re a talking out of your hind-er Sekou. Rose is the most attractive prospect for recruiting another star. He can like a dude once they sign. Question his health – not his attitude.

Sad to say the chances of Thibs running you into the ground till injured is likely the real concern for free agents.

He has no value. the guy is on a long term max deal and has played a hand full of games in 3 years. the Bulls could not trade him even if they wanted to. remember in the NBA you have to match money on trades so another team would have to give up a ton of players or another max player. not even a possibility.

Bulls…
the franchise letting Deng go for nothing!
What a joke, without him has destroyed by Wizarts.
With the great deals with guys as Ben Wallace and Booz. the zero-man!
I wish Luol a ring with Mavs; as i predict,

it’s clear nobody wants to play In Michael Jordan shadow not only that it gets hard when you’re the type of player who wants to play in a certain system and you would like to play your game and not buy into somebody else’s offensive scheme so much the Bulls have solid coaching and a solid team that buys into their scheme and the way they played defense they are set up and prime to make championship run for the next few years with the core of young players that they have but they have been winning games and making the playoffs the last two seasons on defense alone they are in need of scoring and should start looking for other superstars or second tier Superstars if melo is not interested they can still put together a very solid team what some of the free agents that are available it would be horrible to dismantled team when they are only a player or two away from winning a ring chicago is a team that was built from the draftwhat smart pic and smart players now is the time to win and in the draft is somewhere they do not want to be they need offense of help now by way of free agency and I belive they can find it

Alright… I’m a nuggets fan so i watched a lot of Melo for a time, some of the things you say are true, but some are not. Carmelo definetly goes for rebounds, he averaged 8.1 rebounds which is a lot for a SF. I’m not gonna go into the “his fault” or “not his fault” that the Knicks are not elite, i’m just gonna mention that 1 player doesn’t make a team (See Spurs: very good team overall, lots of talent, great system, but still had 3 and a half star players). Can he be better overall? sure, everybody can, but teamates, system, etc. are all part of winning or loosing. Just my two cents from Peru. Greetings everyone

Agreed, Carmelo gets a lot of criticism for not winning, but very few players can take a bad team and drag them to playoffs. There’s only two guys like that in the league right now – LeBron and Durant. Carmelo doesn’t bring what those guys do on both sides of the floor, he’s not going to take a terrible roster like they had in NY this year and get them to the playoffs. It’s also not Anthony’s fault the Knicks tied up $23 million on STAT’s bum knee, he’s not the GM.

But he’s one of the top 3-4 scorers in the league and overall one of the top 10 players. He’s worth the money.

The reason free-agents don’t go there is because of Reinsdorf, all the players know that he is worse than Stirling.

The way the bulls treated Pippen and Jordan doesn’t help either. Gave them no respect in regardst to their salaries. Jordan only got paid after his retirement.

Bulls management also is very poor at the level of cleveland. They feel their best move is to do nothing, Roses brother was correct. They need a scorer who can create his own shot, for the past4 years, the closest to that was nate robinson who already is at a disadvantage, but guess what they didn? They let him go. Should of pursued Ellis. Who would want to go there. In cleveland all Lebron needed was one reall shooter, that got zerbiak, monte, shaq and antwayne jamison. Of course you gotta leave poor management. So anyways, that is why. I have spoken

He wanted more money after his contract was up ..all the stuff he did for the that organization n they didn’t reward his loyalty ..look at laker 2 year 48 mil for kobe they no how to take care of thier people ..that’s why laker was ,is n will be best organization ever

Melo will join the Bulls, and Thibs will expect Melo to perform on defense, and Melo will win games playing with his new teammates (not in a year or two), and Melo will enjoy winning games, and the City of Chicago will cheer Melo, and Melo will enjoy the vibe… All the way to hoisting the championship trophy.

Back when almost all NBA teams were trying to win the shooting talents of C. Anthony, I often posted that whatever team spent the big bucks for C. Anthony would NOT make for a better team. Has the Knicks improved with his very high salary? NOT. Other than maybe selling seats, what can Kick’s # 7 offer? Great points, but only if another player gets the ball and places it in Anthony’s hand. Anthony cannot drag down rebound, and just cannot defend. He cannot control his body and if tries to go for boards/defend? He will foul out. Owners are just wishing upon a “loosing star” to offer big bucks for Anthony. Anthony needs training in out to defend and control his body, so he will not foul. He has never been one to mix up under a board. Who will spend their Cap space for a Name only player next?

He averaged 8 rebound a game with 27points n 40% from three .. Last player who did that was Larry bird .. Wat else yu want him to do ..he’s playin with no team even lebron couldn’t do it alone ..once he get to good team ull see how good he is